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Apple sauce for Eve by Marge Piercy.

"Apple sauce for Eve" appears in Marge Piercy's The Art of Blessing the Day: Poems with a Jewish Theme, published in 1998. As the title of the collection suggests, one source of inspiration for this work was the poet's connection to Judaism, but it is hardly a typical religious poem. Perhaps an even greater motivating factor was her unwavering belief in feminist causes and a determination to reevaluate the traditional concepts found in biblical stories.

Piercy applauds Eve, the biblical first woman, for her quest for knowledge and her disregard of any divine retribution for eating the infamous apple. To enhance the effort to promote logic, rationale, and intellectual pursuit over superstition and fear, Piercy uses scientific metaphors to describe Eve's desire and her decision to commit the "original sin." Eve and Satan are likened to "lab partners," and Eve is deemed "the first scientist."

In spite of any apparent sacrilege a synopsis of this poem implies, readers should not condemn and cast it off as such. In fact, its inclusion in a book dedicated to exploring Jewish belief, doctrine, and history points to just the opposite. The Art of Blessing the Day celebrates the poet's Jewish heritagesometimes with pious reflection, sometimes with humor, and sometimes with candid attacks on established and questionable protocol.